The Wild Man
by My Heroine
Summary: While wandering the school grounds, Rogue meets a bloody and battered wild man. The only clue to his identity is a pair of dog tags. She brings him to live in one of the outbuildings and has to slowly gain his trust so that they have a chance of helping him. Rogan, my first X-Man fic.
1. Chapter 1

It had been 2 years and 4 months since the X-Men had saved me from being kidnapped by Sabretooth, and exactly 6 months since I had gotten control of my mutation. It had been a long, arduous process but I was proud of myself. It was something I had told myself was impossible since I had put Cody into a coma all that time ago. No one had made any mention of the occasion, why would they though? They didn't know what a monumental moment it had been for me when I touched Hank and black veins didn't start to spider under his skin and his blue furry face didn't become pale and ashen with lack of life.

Instead of making a big deal about it, I decided to take a long, leisurely walk around the grounds of the school I had called home for so long. The warm summer sun beating down upon my bare shoulders was still so much lighter than the sun down in Mississippi, and sometimes I missed the stifling wet heat of the south. I strolled along the barely used path through the woods surrounding the school, my mind a million miles away from New York when I heard a twig snap.

My head whipped around, my skin turning itself on instinctively. I slowly looked around and took in my surroundings. '_Maybe a walk in the woods wasn't the wisest idea' _I thought darkly, my skin crawling with the feeling of my power and of being watched. Another snap, this time from behind me and I turned quickly, searching for the source of the noise. My heart pounded loudly in my chest and a soft whimper escaped my lips.

"Stop acting like a child." I scolded myself. "You're an X-Man for chrissakes."

I turned quickly to my left when I heard a deep growl tear through the woods. _'Shit. I can't win against a fuckin' bear.' _I put my hands up in a defensive position and ignored the bead of sweat that trickled down the side of my face. I prayed that the Professor was scanning the grounds at that moment and heard my panic and was sending someone out to help me.

"I hear you out there!" I called, my heart pounding. "Just come out already!"

Suddenly I felt a warm calloused fingertip brush down the back of her neck and I squealed and jumped away, ready to scold whoever it was that had been taunting me when I saw him.

He quite tall, probably a foot or more taller than my petite 5-foot frame, and everything about him commanded respect and displayed an intense amount of power. He was buck naked except for a pair of dog tags hanging from around his neck. His chest and arms were covered in a thin layer of hair and blood, and 3 large metal claws protruded from each of his hands (_'The source of the blood?_' I thought to herself). His body was covered in thick bands of muscle that flexed fluidly when he bent down to sit on his haunches.

'_It's like he's a wild animal." _My brain processed. He might have been handsome, but it was impossible to tell for sure with so much blood and dirt covering his face.

"What are you doin' here?" I questioned, my body still tense and waiting for a fight. "This is private property and you shouldn't be here."

His head tilted to the side as she spoke and he slowly moved toward me, walking on all fours like a dog. "Didncha' hear me!" I shouted, my nerves close to the breaking point. "I'm not helpless you know! I can hurt you!" He was a hair's breadth away from me now. His nostrils were flaring as he took in my scent. He circled around me watching and listening closely for any signs of movement but he never touched me. It was like he could sense that myskin was poison, like how animals could tell what berries were good and bad.

"I see you're bleeding." I whimpered at he stood up to sniff my hair. "I can take you back to the building to get cleaned and patched up, but you gotta say something to me I can't take someone dangerous back to the school."

He stood face to face with me now, his hot breath coming out in great puffs against my face. I stared into his eyes and felt a falling feeling in the pit of my stomach, but it wasn't a bad feeling. It was the kind of feeling you got when you went over the first big bump on a roller coaster and your thought you might puke from nervousness and excitement.

"ROGUE!" I heard someone yell in the distance and suddenly everything seemed to go to hell.

"Scott no!" I tried to warn him ahead of time that there was a dangerous wild man with 8 inch metal knives sticking out of his hands ahead. I felt a tugging and thought for sure the wild man had decided to kill me but instead I found him shielding my body with his own. Scott, Storm, and Jean suddenly broke into the small clearing. Scott's hand reached for his visor and he prepared to take out the strange, bloody man blocking my escape.

"Scott listen to me, I don't think he understands English, or any kind of words actually. I think he's hurt we need to help him!" I plead with my teammates but it was like they weren't listening to me at all. "Storm stop him, he's just trying to protect me he hasn't hurt me at all! You're just scaring him!"

"_We_ are scaring _him?!"_ Scott huffed incredulously, his jaw dropping. "Do you even _see_ this guy Rogue? He's like a wild animal we can't let him near the school or anyone else for that matter!"

"He's hurt and he's obviously a mutant, you can't turn him away can you! He's scared and he thinks you're about to hurt me just back up!" The trio looked to each other and then slowly backed up, the wild man's body slowly relaxed the further they went. I determinedly turned my skin off and let my hand slowly approach the man. My fingers trembled and then suddenly the man was facing me again, holding my hand between his own large ones. His claws had disappeared and I briefly wondered where they had gone when he put his face up against my palm and sniffed deeply and a soft 'eep!' escaped my mouth before I could stop it. I looked over to Scott, 'Ro, and Jean but they were barely giving me a second glance and they quietly whispered amongst themselves.

I reached out my other hand with more determination and placed it against the man's head and a low purr burst forth from his chest and I giggled softly. I stroked his hair gently and watched in fascination as his posture became more and more relaxed the longer I continued her petting. "You're not so fierce are you? You're like a big cat." I spoke softly, terrified of startling the man. "Now what did you do to yourself? You're covered in bl-"

The man's movements stopped abruptly and a high, keening whine burst forth from his throat. His fingers were lax on the hand he had just a moment ago been smelling and rubbing his face all over. "What's happened? What's wrong?" His body was shaking but other than that he was frozen, unmoving. I looked over at the other X-Men, who I had forgotten were even there for a moment, and noticed what was wrong.

"Jean let him go! What are you doing to him you're hurting him!" I shouted, trying to console the poor man by gently rubbing his back.

"He's a wild animal Rogue, we can't let him just wander around the grounds. Just because he didn't hurt you doesn't mean he won't hurt someone else." Jean ground out, all of her concentration was going into keeping the man still. "We're just keeping him still until Scott sedated him and we can take him back into the lab and keep him quarantined in one of the cells down in the basement."

I watched as Scott moved in with a needle full of clear liquid, and I hushed and gently patted the man's back when he roared in despair when the needle was inserted. "You're going to be okay. It's okay, I'll make sure they don't hurt you." I murmured, running my fingers through his muddy, tangled hair. While he was still I took a brief moment to look at his dog tags. "Wolverine, Logan. Is that you're name? Logan Wolverine? It sounds a bit silly." I giggled through her tears.

I looked over at the others and ground out harshly, "How long until the damn sedative kicks in?"

"It should have kicked in the moment he was injected with it." Jean turned towards Scott. "You don't think it's a…?"

"Healing factor." He finished his fiancé's sentence, his head shaking. "Now what the hell are we supposed to do with him?"

"_**Rogue."**_ I jumped, not expecting the Professor's mental voice in my head and Logan whined, his eyes darting to meet with mine. _**"Do you think if we let this man out of Jean's hold on him, that you could coax him into one of the outbuildings that I can access? I'm having a hard time getting into his mind, most likely because he's feral but I won't know for sure until I can run some tests."**_

I didn't care at that point whether I could get the man to do what I wanted or not, I was just desperate for Jean to release her telekinetic hold on him. '_Yes I think I can get him to follow me.' _I replied quickly.

"_**Very good, I'll tell Jean to release him."**_ I could physically feel the man withdrawing form my mind, and watched Jean's face closely as Professor X communicated with the others.

"It's going to be okay." I whispered, continuing my soothing stroking movements. "When they let you go, you have to follow me or they might hurt you. I know they don't want to but they will to protect the students. God I hope you can understand anything I'm saying to you."

"I'm letting go of him now Rogue, please be careful." I heard Jean's voice call out, and then suddenly the man was on the ground, his body was shaking and his claws had come back out, causing more blood to spill over his hands and onto the ground. I dropped to my knees next to him and gently rubbed his arm and hair, trying to calm the frightened man-beast.

"C'mon now sugar, you gotta follow me now. I know you're hurtin' and scared but you gotta come with me." I plead, tugging his arm until he was once again standing upright. I tried to pull him toward the most accessible outbuildings but he didn't move. His body stood firm, looking warily from the other people in the clearing, to me, to the deep woods behind him. "Please don't bolt, you gotta come." I tugged again, and after another long moment of wishful staring, the man followed behind.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews! It means a lot :) I got a review on the first chapter asking me why I described Wolverine as so short (I originally said he was only a couple inches taller than Rogue, who was about 5 foot), and I replied that in my googling of the xmen universe to make sure that I was getting everything as accurate as possible, I googled how tall Wolverine was rather than Hugh Jackman who plays him. Turns out comic Wolverine is only 5'3" and I just decided to use that height without thinking "Maybe I should use Hugh Jackman's height since he's the one who plays him in the movie" so I decided to change his height from comic Wolverine's 5'3" to Hugh Jackman's 6'2". The change has been made in the first chapter to reflect this change. I'm going to keep Rogue at the 5' even though Anna Paquin was probably closer to 5'3" when the movie was released. Also I had originally written the first chapter in third person (I literally have no idea why I wrote it that way since I hate writing third person but it was late when I wrote it so I'll blame that) but I've updated it to be first person. I tried as hard as I could to make all the necessary corrections and changes to the chapter but I might have missed a couple things, and I'm writing this without a beta. If you see anything feel free to let me know!**

The trek to the cabin was a long one, and the closer we got the more reluctant Logan was to follow but it seemed he refused to let me go on alone. It was more than obvious that he didn't trust the other X-Men and I almost felt bad for bringing him with them to a place he obviously felt intensely uncomfortable around. I clasped his hand within my own and gave him an encouraging smile. "You're doin' wonderful sugar. I'm sorry I'm making you do this."

I looked up into his hazel-golden eyes and nearly cried at the emotions I saw in them. He may not be able to speak with his mouth but his eyes were a wealth of information. They told a story of fear, anger, burning hope and trust. I had stopped in my tracks trying to take it all in, just in case this man ended up destroyed or was moved away from me in the future.

"Rogue, can you hurry that dumb animal up? Being near him is just setting my teeth on edge and I want it over with already." Scott shouted behind his shoulder from up ahead. I huffed angrily.

"If anyone here is acting like a big dumb animal it's _you,_ Scott!" I shouted back. The man at my side growled warningly, his lip curling up towards Scott. I worried briefly about my finger's proximity to the deadly claws I knew where hidden between his knuckles.

As soon as the thought was finished a rustic, slightly worn down cabin appeared over the horizon. I sped up but quickly stopped when I realized Logan wasn't following with me. "What's wrong sugar?" I said softly, unsure of what this reaction meant. I pulled gently on his arm but he refused to move. "It's okay, it's not gunna hurt you, I promise. We just need to see Hank and the Professor." He whined and looked from my hand to my face to the cabin. His dark eyebrows furrowed in frustration and a hint of fear and his lips turned down at the corners.

"I know you're scared but we're trying to help you. I would never let anyone hurt you. I promise." He gently tried to tug back on my own arm, almost desperate to get away from civilization. There was no way he was going to hurt anyone at the school. The site of a building seemed to send him into panic mode and it was obvious people were not his forte. "I'm so sorry, but you've got to come this way or I'm afraid they'll hurt you. Please." My begging and wet eyes seemed to do him in and he finally followed closer to the building. His fingers were trembling within my own and there was a constant quiet whine coming from him.

The professor was waiting right outside the building and his calm demeanor immediately put me at ease. The Professor would never let any harm come to Logan and I was insane to think that in the first place. We approached at a snail's pace with Scott huffing and groaning the whole way before Logan stopped about 10 feet from the cabin. He refused to move any closer, and no coaxing or begging I was doing seemed to be helping. In fact it almost made the situation worse. He kept getting anxious and tried to sooth me by running his hand over my head like I'd been doing to him, and when that didn't stop my words he started whining and pacing back and forth, still clutching my hand. He was desperate to stop my discomfort and worry but just couldn't make himself move closer.

"It's okay Rogue, Hank can come out there to you." The professor soothed when he saw how upset and frustrated the two of us were getting. "We're just going to need to get some blood samples and see if we can't find out who this fellow is, and if all goes well hopefully we'll be able to preform a quick physical to determine his health." I nodded and stopped trying to bring Logan closer, which seemed to immediately calm him.

That is until Hank stepped out of the house. Logan let out a vicious snarl and his eyes seemed to change to pure gold. He moved slowly and with great purpose until he was standing in front of my and his claws burst through his skin causing a new wave of blood to pour out. I felt like I was truly staring at a wild animal in that moment instead of an injured man. He crouched down and sat his weight on the balls of his feet and growled low in his chest. I looked over at Hank with wide eyes, afraid for the poor man's life, only to see him standing there calm and collected.

"It's nothing to worry about, he's just asserting his dominance. Once he determines that I'm not a threat to him everything will be fine." He explained. He looked Logan into the eyes, and then cast his own to the side and lowered himself near to the ground in a clear show of submission. After a few tense moments Logan huffed in acceptance and stood up straight. Hank stood back up and brushed his clothes off and went to come forward slowly but Logan wouldn't allow it. "Rogue, do you think he would let you take the samples we need? I don't think he's going to let anyone else come near him anytime soon and he's obviously taken a shine to you."

I swallowed against a huge lump that had formed in my throat. Despite all the things I had been saying to Jean, Scott, and 'Ro, I was still pretty frightened of this wild man that had appeared in the woods. We didn't know how long his random affection toward me would last and seeing him not even be affected by the tranquilizers put my mutation into question. He obviously had an amazing healing ability, would my power affect him as strongly as it would any other mutant I had come in contact with or would his healing ability just infinitely regenerate power before I had a chance to escape?

"You don't have to do it if you're too worried about it. We could always get Jean to-"

"No." I interrupted. I had seen what being held against his will had done to the man. He was terrified (and rightly so, we could have done anything to him in that moment) and I didn't want to see such an obviously strong and powerful man brought down to such a low level again. "No I can do it." I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt.

Jean slowly levitated the equipment over to me and I caught it with shaking hands. '_Please let me do this. For both of us, please.'_ I thought desperately and out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw the Professor's eyebrow quirk up, but when I looked over his face was as impassive as ever.

"Alright Logan, I'm just gunna take some blood from you. There's nothing to worry about." I said in a hushed voice. I placed my hand on his arm and rubbed soothingly until his body relaxed some. I took the tourniquet and slowly wrapped it around his arm just above his elbow and tied it tightly. "Is that okay sugar? Not too tight right?" He looked at me curiously but made no move to remove the band so I took that as a sign to continue. I rubbed along his forearm and inner elbow until I found a strong, straight vein. I put the medical gloves on and grabbed the alcohol swab and wiped the dirt, blood, and grime from the spot. Logan watched my every move carefully, but it seemed as though he trusted me implicitly, and knew that I was trying to help him.

I took the needle and screwed it into the barrel and then removed the sheath to the needle. "I'm gunna stick this in your arm alright sugar? It's gunna hurt a little but I need you to stay calm and not move or you could get hurt and we don't want that right?" I made sure Logan saw the needle clearly, and I felt his body shift uncomfortably under my soothing hand. "I promise it'll be over in a couple minutes."

He made no move to stop me so I slowly and gently inserted the needle into his vein. I made sure the barrel was secure before I took the vacutainer tube and inserted it into the barrel. Crimson blood spilled into the container and when it was full I removed it. I filled two more before Hank told me he would have enough. I removed the tourniquet and took a cotton swab and held it over the needle's injection site before I delicately removed the needle. I let myself press the swab over the injection site for a moment before I lifted it to check that it had healed.

"You did amazing sugar!" I held out the tubes of blood and I felt them lift from my hands as Jean's powers took ahold of them. I heard Hank agree quietly and Logan growled quietly at his voice. I smiled up at Logan and he looked down at me and smiled back. Maybe this human interaction was stirring something human within him?

"Well I think we can rule out the physical for today if the man won't even put up with Hank's voice. We'll have to try again at a later date. Thank you for coming up Hank, please let us know if you find out anything about this gentleman." The professor said, and Scott snorted at the word 'gentleman'. Hank nodded and walked off and the conversation resumed. "Now the question is what to do with him. It's obvious he won't interact with any of us besides Rogue, and he is very hesitant near civilization. I don't think he will attempt harm on the school. The amount of people alone would send him running."

Scott, Jean, and Storm all chimed in on the conversation with the professor trying to come up with a solution that was most safe for everyone but I wasn't paying any attention to them, I was thinking up my own solution. "I'll stay with him." I interrupted. The conversation ceased immediately around me and there was a long bout of silence. "I mean he trusts me, or something similar to it, and I think if you all weren't here he would willingly follow me into the house and stay in there as long as I asked him too."

Xavier seemed to be seriously considering the option but Jean quickly interrupted his train of thought. "I don't think that's a safe option. We can't predict his behavior at all, he could turn on you at any moment, and we're not sure how your mutation will affect him at this point. If something were to happen to you, we wouldn't be able to forgive ourselves."

"Well it's a good thing I'm a grown woman and can make my own decisions regarding my safety. I'm not a student here anymore and if I have to leave to protect Logan than I will." I spoke the words without thinking and quickly realized there was no regret in my head about it. I would protect this man at all costs, something inside me told me he was important but I wasn't sure how or why he was.

Scott and Jean looked shocked at my confession. I had never shown any inclination to leave to school, in fact I had recently thought about possibly becoming a teacher here. The school was the first place that had felt like home to me in a long time and these people had saved me when I most needed them but the time where I needed them to survive had passed. I wouldn't let them boss me around forever just because they had helped me once upon a time. Logan needed me now like I needed them once and there was no way they could stop me from helping him.

"I think it's a wonderful idea." Xavier announced and I felt my own jaw drop. I had expected him to try and persuade me to rethink my decision. "I think you and him would get along famously once you were alone, but I don't think a building near the students would be good. I don't think he would go near the school but it's best to err on the side of caution when it comes to the children and their safety. I think you and him would have a wonderful time at my lake house, and I think it would be best that you leave as soon as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Once again thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed The Wild Man!**

The trip to the cabin was more of an ordeal than I wanted it to be. It was too far to walk and Logan wanted nothing to do with cars. I eventually forced his hand by getting in the car and having it slowly move away from him. Once we stopped near the end of the driveway Logan was in a tizzy and hopped in the car without even thinking about it. I felt a little guilty about it but in the end it was for his own good (or at least I hoped it would be). He was clearly uncomfortable for the 45-minute car ride and if he could I imagined he would be pacing. No amount of soothing I did was working and Scott was clearly getting agitated with Logan's wild-ness, especially considering we hadn't put him in any clothes yet.

I hadn't been peeking at Logan's body… much. It was hard not to though. His body seemed to be comprised entirely of muscle. His stomach was well defined and it looked like he could lift the damn car with his arms alone. His legs were more toned than I thought possible, maybe from running around in the wild so much? I would like to say I was a lady and hadn't looked at his… well…more _private _region, but I would be lying. The man was built _everywhere._

The professor had gotten someone to come out and air out the cabin and stock it with food, clothes, and other supplies and I shooed Scott off with promises that I would call if there was any problem with Logan. It was another long chore to get Logan into the shower and washed. I had to get in with him to get him inside the tiny shower stall and I unsuccessfully tried to wash his hair without getting any shampoo in his eyes. As much as I wanted to wash his body for him, I made him loofah his own body after showing him how. Getting dressed was the easiest part of the evening. It was almost as if his body was running on some kind of muscle memory because as soon as I handed him the simple pair of grey sweatpants he put them on without any coaxing and I made a note to let the Professor know.

"Are you hungry sugar? Do you want something to eat?" My stomach was grumbling and twisting, I hadn't eaten since breakfast.

I pulled out a pan and got everything set up to make some fried chicken. Logan watched me closely (like he had ever stopped) and slowly made his way to the breakfast counter and sat on one of the stools. I almost burned the chicken just staring into his golden eyes but thankfully managed to salvage it. I plated a few pieces onto Logan's plate and cringed as he dug into the steaming, burning hot chicken with his bare fingers.

"It's hot! You're gunna burn yourself sugar!" I tried to warn him but he ignored me and continued eating. Maybe his healing factor prevented such things as minor food burns? It still had to hurt a _little _though, right? I ate slowly, more interested in his actions than my own and I felt my tongue burn on the chicken but I ignored it.

I'd never seen someone eat like Logan ate, but I'd never exactly seen a wild man before. He ate like he was starving and he didn't know when his next meal was going to come. When he finished the few pieces I had put on his plate he looked between me and the dish of chicken still sitting by the stove and waited I gave him a small smile before he raced up to grab a few more pieces and chow them down as well. Then he sat himself back next to me and contented himself with watching me finish eating my piece. His eyes roamed my face and a small smile graced his own clean one.

I had to admit; he was much better looking without all the grime covering his face. He was tanned and had some of the longest eyelashes I'd ever seen on a man. He had thick facial hair but it seemed to suit him and I was left wondering if he had always had it. Despite how content he seemed at the moment, it looked as though he was having a huge internal struggle. I smiled back at him and his grin only widened at me.

"So can you talk at all?" I asked him and his head cocked to the side. "Try and say my name. Say Marie. _Ma-rie._" I coaxed and he stared at my mouth, studying the way it moved.

"M'ree." He finally said after a moment and a smile broke out on his face and he preened at my praise. I ruffled his hair and he purred and pressed closer to my hand. I smiled and combed my fingers through his thick locks again and listened to the rumble deep in his chest.

"I think it's time for bed." I spoke softly. I led him up to the bathroom first so he could take care of business and thankfully I didn't need to show him how to work the toilet before I led him to one of the bedrooms. I took him to the bed and pulled the blankets back and settled him under the covers before I kissed his forehead and said goodnight. I turned off the light but left the door cracked in case he needed something in the middle of the night and quickly settled myself into another room.

* * *

A loud creak in the middle of the night awoke me from my sleep and I shot upright while turning my skin on. I looked wildly around the room expecting to see Magneto after the nightmare I'd been having, only to see Logan standing in the doorway. His face was troubled and he was shuffling his feet. His eyes were unsettled, beseeching me to let him in the room. I smiled kindly and patted the side of my bed while making sure my skin was turned back off. He slowly worked his way over and settled in beside me and I ran my fingers through his thick hair and hummed horribly off key. His purr quickly sent me back to sleep.

* * *

I woke abruptly for the second time, only this time the sun was high in the sky. I reached to the other side of the bed but only felt cold sheets. I gasped and threw the covers off and ran around the cabin searching for my wild man but I couldn't find him anywhere. My heart was racing and my breathing grew shallow. '_What will happen to him if I can't find him? What will I do?'_ my thoughts were frantic and worried, wondering where the hell Logan had gone when I heard a thump from outside.

I bound through the door and down the front steps and right into his sweaty chest. I clutched him to me and breathed him in, reassuring myself that he was still there and he hadn't wandered off and gotten himself hurt. His hand came up and patted me on the back in a slightly awkward manner and I quickly got the feeling that he was entirely unsure of what to do with an upset woman, just like every other man on the planet. Once my heart slowed down I pulled back and smiled weakly at him.

"I didn't know were you'd gone. I can't have you wandering too far away and giving the x-men a reason to hurt you or something worse." I whispered and he nodded, though I wasn't even sure he understood what I was saying. "What were you doing outside anyway? Can you show me?"

He smiled widely before tugging me toward the back of the house excitedly. I laughed at his enthusiasm and jogged to keep up with his long stride. He finally slowed down when we reached the edge of the lake where he had set up a large bucket. He pointed to it and I looked inside to see several fish. "You caught us dinner?" I laughed and he nodded. "Well you're going to have to clean them up to be cooked because I have no idea how to do it. I'll go back into the house and start breakfast and then we can see if we can't dig out your more domesticated side some more."

I went back to the house and started working on some waffles and watched him carefully through the kitchen window as he gutted and cleaned all the fish. What would happen to him if I couldn't get him back to normal? What would happen to _me_ if I couldn't get him back to normal? If there was anything the last day had shown me was that I didn't want to be without him, but could I really be with him in any capacity? If I were to leave the X-men and the school to be with Logan, where would we go? The woods? He could survive anything thanks to his healing factor, but what would I do? Would I be able to live through a frigid northern winter? What would we do for food and other necessities?

I watched Logan work on another fish and he looked up and smiled brightly at me through the window and waved at me and I smiled back. My insides warmed and I knew in that moment that yes, I would leave with Logan if that was what it came to. I would give up all the modern necessities that I had come to know and love. I didn't know why I was so set on this man but something in my gut told me not to let him get away, and my gut had never steered me wrong before.

Once breakfast was finished I called out to him and he came bounding up the stairs and into the kitchen. I instructed him to wash his hands and he did without having to be shown. '_More muscle memory or was he finally regaining his senses?_' He ate the waffles with gusto but seemed much more enthused about the bacon I had made, whether it was because he was a man or because he was a _wild_ man I wasn't sure, but either way it made me laugh.

After we cleaned up we sat down in the living room and I read a book to him, hoping a certain phrase or word would trigger his memory but it didn't seem to do anything besides cause an extreme case of drowsiness for both of us. I awoke in his embrace on the couch, his warm breath on my neck and I never felt safer.

I unwound myself from his body and took the fish he had cleaned earlier and started to prepare it to be grilled. Sometime between when I took it outside and when I came back in with it fully cooked to wake him he must have started having a nightmare. He was groaning and twisting around on the couch. I rushed over and shook his shoulder and begged him to wake up. I pressed my fingers to his face and his eyes flew open and his claws extended… right into my chest.

My eyes widened and his face instantly lost all the tension from the nightmare and horror grew on his face. I looked down at where the metal went into my chest and felt tears spill from my eyes onto his bloody hands. I looked back at his horrified face and felt the claws retract from my body and heard a choked groan escape my lips. He deftly caught my falling body and choked out a cry.

"Marie?" his voice was terrified and I smiled at him.

"You pronounced my name right, good job sugar." I tried to smile but I felt something wet pour from the corner of my mouth and tasted the metallic tang of blood in my mouth.

"Marie what do I do? How do I fix you!?" he yelled and pushed my hair from my face. My brow furrowed at his words. Since when did he know how to speak English, or was he just faking it this whole time.

"I need to touch you." I whispered brokenly. Logan took my lip hand and places it against his face and I felt the wetness of his tears against my palm. "It's gunna hurt. I'm not sure if you're healing will keep you alive and safe from it." I warned him, but he only pressed my palm harder against his cheek. I quickly flipped on my mutation and his face instantly turned pale, black veins started spidering across his neck and chest. I felt my skin slowly knitting itself back together and the pain receding at a snail's pace but I let go as soon as I knew I was in the clear. Logan's memories had started seeping into my own and I quickly pulled my hand out from under his and we both fell to the ground unconscious.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: As always, thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows!**

I paced back and forth in front of Logan's prone form. I had attempted to get him up on the couch but there was no way I would be able to haul his heavy ass up. It felt like it was filled with lead. It had been hours since I had touched him with my skin on and while his skin was back to normal and his heart was beating and he was breathing properly he hadn't woken up. I was close to calling the Professor but I wanted to try and solve this problem by myself.

I knelt down beside him and started combing my fingers through my hair. They always said that people in comas could hear when people spoke to them. "I've been like this for close to three years. The first time my mutation showed up I was kissing a boy I had a crush on and I put him in a coma that he's never going to wake up from. I got all his memories, and I got his voice in my head because I didn't know how to box them away like I do now. He would tell me how angry he was with my and how he was horrified that I was a mutant and that he had kissed my mutant lips." I tried to shrug off the hurt at the memories. "After a while my parents subtly hinted that it was time for me to leave the house and be on my own. I hitchhiked all over the place and into Canada where I got kidnapped by that idiot Sabretooth, which is when the X-Men found me and gave me a home. Magneto managed to get ahold of me one night and tried to use my power to turn everyone at this fancy party in New York into mutants so that they would be more for mutant rights but it backfired and that's how I got this stupid hair." I pushed said platinum locks form my face and huffed. "It took years for me to learn about my mutation and how it was an automatic response and how to turn it off and on. But still no one at the school is really close with me. They're still afraid of me even though it's been months since I got control of myself. Everyone is afraid of me but you weren't and look where that got you. Maybe they _should_ be afraid of me." I hissed bitterly.

Suddenly Logan's hand was tangled in my hair and his rough voice was soothing my frazzled nerves. "I ain't afraid of ya Marie."

"I thought you were dead." I rasped, tightening my fingers into the hair I'd been stroking. "I didn't know if you were going to be able to wake up or not." I pulled him up against me and cried against his shoulder and felt his heavy hand pet my head soothingly.

"I'm okay. Don't worry about me nothing can take me down." He murmured and I gasped and flew back out of his arms and onto the floor. I hadn't been imagining him speaking English while I was being skewered on his claws.

"You can speak English!" I yelled stupidly and he nodded slowly. "Have you been able to speak English this whole time?" I questioned with my eyes narrowed.

"No. I've been… trapped for a while. I'm not sure how long I was in my feral state for, but I think it's been a while." He replied in a soothing tone, his eyes seemed disturbed at his own statement. I inched my way back towards his and inspected him. Everything seemed the same except for his eyes. Instead of the shimmering gold I had come to know, they were a deep hazel color. "It's like I have two minds. My Logan mind, which is this one, and my Wolverine mind, which is the one you've been spending time with. When I'm in a lot of danger or I need to survive for a while in the wild or something he usually takes over. It had been so long since I was in a safe place with safe human beings that it was like I was stuck, he had become the stronger, dominant personality but I had been fighting to get free. Then your mutation weakened that asshole enough that I could take charge again. He's a selfish bastard. He doesn't get out much." He tried to joke but I was still shocked. I would need to tell the professor about this as much as I wanted to keep Logan to myself.

"I need to make a call." I told him and hastily got up and ran into the kitchen. I picked up the cell phone that I had lying on the counter and dialed the familiar number. It rang twice before someone picked up the line.

"Rogue! Did that bastard hurt you? We'll be there as soon as possible!" Scott answered, he kept blabbing on about how he was going to 'put that animal down for hurting a woman' and other dumb shit before I was finally able to interrupt him.

"Scott shut the hell up and get Charles before you hurt yourself, ya dope." I shouted and he finally shut up. I heard a shuffling and the Professor's soothing voice came over the phone.

"I assume there has been a development since you are not taking Scott up on his offer to 'hunt the animal down?'" he asked politely. I smiled despite myself. I peeked around the wall into the living room and saw Logan sitting exactly where I had left him and then darted back into the kitchen

"He's back in his right mind." I replied. "He remembers who I am and he doesn't want to hurt me or anything. We had a mishap and I had to use my power but everything and everyone is fine. I don't think we should head back to the school yet. I want to make sure everything is okay with him for a few more days before I throw him into a new place again."

"That sounds reasonable to me. Just keep us updated on everything and keep yourself safe." He instructed before hanging up. Rude northerners needed to learn how to say goodbye before they hung up. I took a deep breath and headed back into the living room and saw that Logan had moved from the floor to the couch.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked quietly, I was so afraid to startle him. He chucked humorlessly and stood up. I backed away a bit. 'Wolverine' had wanted to keep me safe, but did that feeling extend to the personality he was sporting now?

"I'm fine darlin', I'm just tryin' to remember how the fuck I ended up in the woods where you found me." He strode over to me and pulled me into his arms. It felt natural to be there and I pressed my face against his bare chest. "Damn I could use a beer. Do you have any in the fridge?"

I laughed and pulled back from his embrace. "Unfortunately no. I could definitely use one as well. We could probably head out and grab some if you were feeling up to it? I mean, as long as you don't decide to turn into a wild beast again while we're browsing the aisle of the store." I teased and he shook his head.

"I promise I won't turn into a wild man and rip all my clothes off and howl to the moon or somethin'." He teased and I blushed at the mention of his nudity.

"Well there are some clothes in the dresser upstairs for you. I'm just gunna go get changed and we can head out." I scrambled up the stairs and slammed the door to my room. My heart was pounding and my palms were sweaty and I couldn't get my mind to focus on the task at hand. I waited a minute before I heard Logan shuffle from the living room up the stairs and into his own room. The excellent hearing must have been one of the side effects of taking on his powers. _That _was going to take some getting used to.

I waited another moment before getting dressed and fixing my hair a little before making my way back downstairs. I gazed longingly at the forgotten grilled fish and felt my stomach ache at the thought of food. I paused a moment and listened for Logan, he was still shuffling around in the bedroom upstairs, and ran to grab a fork. I dove into the food with gusto I didn't even know I had. I moaned at the taste of the fish even though it was stone cold at this point. It was an intense burst of flavor and I felt my eyes roll back into my head a little. I was so distracted by the food that when I heard Logan chuckle behind me I screamed and almost choked on a bite.

"It's part of the feral senses. I have a much better senses than the average human." He explained as I tried to clear the food from my throat. "I'm guessing you'll be feeling those effects for a while because of your mutation?"

I finally managed to swallow normally and nodded my agreement. "I'll have some of your traits, mannerisms, and powers for a little while. But… I'll have your memories forever." I admitted. I dared to look him in the eye and watched him closely. He seemed torn at that information. I knew how huge of a privacy violation my mutation was. Most times it didn't matter though because the person on the other end of my poison touch was dead. At least that was the case before I came to the school, before someone took the time to teach me how to work my mutation.

"I'm fuckin' sorry about that Marie." He hissed and pulled me in for a hug. My arms wrapped around him and I twisted his shirt into my fingers. His hand came up and petted my head softly. "I wish you didn't have to see the shit I've been through."

I shook my head in astonishment and pulled back from him. After I damn near killed him and stole his memories and mutations he still felt sorry about what he was doing to me. "You feel sorry for _me?"_ I laughed and he frowned.

"Of course I do. I've been living with those memories for over 15 years now and they still haunt me and give me nightmares you can't even imagine. I don't want that for you." He growled and ran his fingers through his damp hair. He must have showered while I was devouring enough food for a small army. "I was having a nightmare when I stabbed your through the chest. I was dreaming about when they put molten hot metal against every bone in my body. When they had me drowning in a tank of water that was boiling because of the heat of the adamantium in my body. I watched them clink champagne glasses and congratulate themselves on a job while done while I felt like I was dying a million times over."

I stared wide-eyed at the man in front of me. My horror grew with every word he spoke. I hadn't had a chance to peek into his memories yet, and now there was no way I wanted to. I had thought my infrequent nightmares about what Magneto did to me when I first came to the X-men was bad but they were nothing compared to the horrors spilling from Logan's lips.

"And I don't know what other memories will haunt me now. I have no idea what happened to me to get me to this point other than meeting you. I don't know why the hell I was naked in the woods covered in blood." He tore at his hair and growled menacingly when I got near him. For the first time I was truly frightened of Logan. I didn't know what he was capable of when he was like this. I moved away from him slowly and felt my back press up against the wall.

"Logan you need to calm down." I whispered hoarsely over the lump that had formed in my throat. He had started pacing and growling loudly. I covered my ears and plead with him again but his behavior only became more agitated. He lifted a hand from his hair and went to punch the marble countertop but my yelp of fright seemed to finally break through the cloud of anger and fright he was feeling.

He looked over at me and I stared into his eyes, they were slightly golden, the Wolverine was trying to break free from Logan's mental prison. His fist was hovering inches from the counter and we locked eyes for a long moment before his fist fell and his eyes changed back to hazel. He breathed heavily for a while like he had just run a marathon before he looked away form me.

"This is what they've done to me Marie. This is what those fucking memories you absorbed do to me. Now tell me, do you still feel sorry for an asshole like me? Do you still feel bad for the wild animal I am? Someone who could hurt you without even trying whenever I have a bad flashback?" He hissed through his teeth. He hung his head and the still damp strands of hair he had been tugging fell in front of his eyes. His body was shaking from the exertion of the moment and the emotions coursing through him.

I took a moment to gather my courage and checked to make sure the scare he had given me hadn't unconsciously turned my skin on before I slowly approached him. I lifted my hand purposefully, making sure he saw my ever move. I placed my hand on his shoulder and felt it tense and bunch up under my touch and I took my other hand and tugged his head to make him look me back in the eye.

"Of course I feel bad for you Logan. What kind of person would I be if I didn't?" His eyes bored into my own before closing slowly. His head slowly tilted forward and he pressed his forehead against my own. I felt his breath fan across my face and I sighed in contentment. He wrapped his arms around me and pressed my body close to his and he moved his forehead to the crook of my neck.

"Don't leave me. Please don't fuckin' leave me." He begged brokenly. I hushed him and ran my fingers through his hair.

"I won't. I promise I won't." I whispered back softly, all the while caressing his hair.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm very sorry for the lateness of this chapter! I recently relocated for work and have been super busy. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it! I'm trying out Logan for once and hopefully my interpretation won't be awful!**

_Runrunrunrun gotta keep running can't stop running. What am I running from? I can't remember what's going on, but I need to keep running, gotta keep running away._

My legs were tired and my chest was burning and my knuckles were itching. It was _unbearable. _I tried scratching the itch between my fingers but as soon as the tips of my fingers touched the knuckles three shiny blades sliced right through the palm of my hand. I yelped more in surprise than pain; my body seemed to know that this pain was nothing compared to what had happened to it in the past. I slowly pulled my skewered hand off the blade because it didn't look like it was going to go back into my hand anytime soon. 

Thick crimson blood poured from the wound in my hand and I watched in bewilderment as my skin knitted itself back together and the miniscule pain I had started to feel disappeared. I touched it with the fingers of my clawed hands, careful not to jab myself like a fucking moron again, I expected pain from the touching of an open wound but only felt the slip of blood and uninjured skin.

_What the fuck was happening?_ A keening whine escaped my throat without my permission and I took off running again.

I ran for days before I finally felt like I was far enough away from whatever it was I was running from. I found a dilapidated shack and climbed inside of it. The weather was getting cold and my body constantly felt heavy and frozen. My joints seemed to be hardening and I couldn't make my body do what I wanted it to. My stomach was aching from days of not having a single thing in it but I couldn't bring myself to get out of the cabin and back into the cold to hunt something down to eat.

I lay down on a pile of moth eaten rags I had found scattered throughout the small building and let myself drift off to sleep.

When I woke up my entire body was covered in a thin layer of frost. My skin was aching and blue and I couldn't make myself move to warm back up. My heartbeat was slowed to a crawl and I knew I was dying but I couldn't help but me a little thankful. I didn't know how I had gotten here or what was happening to me but if I felt the need to run naked in the woods for days, constantly stabbing myself with claws I had no recollection of, then maybe it was better to just let go. I stopped struggling to bring warmth to my body and let myself still on the rags.

This was a good thing. This was the end of a terrible life even if I couldn't only recall a short bit of it. My breathing was near stopped now and my heart was barely beating. I closed my eyes and let myself relax and fall into the darkness.

I awoke again with a deep gasp for breath. The air was much warmer now. Had I slept through the whole winter? I stood myself up on unsteady feet and shook my head. So this is what it came down to. I was unkillable it seemed.

The next couple of months were a blur of hunting and surviving. I could feel any semblance of rationality that I had been holding onto slip away the longer I was alone but I was too fucking scared to go near anywhere close to others. At least in the wild I knew I was safe.

It wasn't until the first bursts of summer that I even smelled another human. I silently wandered closer to the enchanting smell of another human and watched from a tree as a little kit walked along a well worn path in the woods. Had I really been so close to civilization this entire time? And here I thought I was so far disconnected from the outside world I would never find my way out of the woods.

I slowly lowered myself from the tree, fully intending to head back to my ramshackle home and grab everything I had and go but my fucking heavy ass body had to go and make a branch snap and she definitely heard it if her wide eyes and increased heartbeat were anything to go by. Her head whipped around, unsure of where the noise had originated. I slowly moved around so that I was behind her before snapping another twig beneath my stupid fucking foot.

A scared noise escaped the kit's mouth and I felt a little bad for terrifying her the way I was. I heard her say something to herself but it was like she was speaking another language. I knew if I let my more human side out I could understand her but the wild in me was too strong now and I couldn't possibly win against it. I growled loudly in frustration and once again heard her gasp and whip around trying to find me but she never would unless I wanted her to.

I heard her speak again and recognized the fear in her voice. I was already entranced by her. I quickly snuck up behind her and carefully ran my fingers down the back of her neck. I felt a small jolt as I touched her, it wasn't _entirely_ unpleasant but I definitely didn't want to do it again. She squealed at the touch and jumped away from me making my unpredictable metal claws come out and held her hands out in a defensive position until she saw me. I was much taller than her. The top of her head wouldn't even brush my chin. She appraised me as I did her and I could smell the fear coming off of her in waves but her face didn't show any trace of it.

I lowered myself to her, wanting to show her that I wouldn't hurt her, and the animal in my head roared at the submissive position. I didn't submit to _anyone _for _any _reason but here I was down on the ground like a stupid kit bowing to it's momma. More words left her smooth pink lips and I tipped my head in confusion. I had to hand it to her, she was brave.

I made my way towards her still on all fours like a damn idiot and sniffed around her. I ignored the sound of her rising voice. _This was the kind of bravery that made a good mother. _I finally stood up and put my face against her hair and breathed in deeply. I locked the smell of her away in a safe place in my head. Nothing could make me forget her smell now (well hopefully nothing). I would protect her at any cost. My entire body and mind told me she was worth protecting.

I put my face mere inches from her own and stared into her deep brown eyes. I felt like I could get lost in them and for a moment I was. A small group of people had actually managed to sneak up on me. _Sneak up on the Wolverine!_ Being wary of claw placement I quickly pushed her behind me and got ready for a fight.

Three people broke into the small clearing I had found the kit at, a man and two women. I heard them loudly exchange words and tense glances. There was always one stranger staring at me. After a few heavy moments the trio of newcomers slowly backed up and I could feel myself relaxing minutely the further they got. I wouldn't allow myself full relaxation until I knew my mate was safe.

_Wait. Fuck. No. Shit. Goddammit I don't need this right now. I don't even fucking know the kid._

I felt a tiny hand approach me and I forced my claws back inside of my arms before turning around and grabbing the appendage. I knew she was safe to touch now. Something inside of me told me she wasn't poison anymore and it made me incredibly happy. I pulled her hand to my face and took in the smell of her untainted skin happily. As I smelled her hand and covertly rubbed my own scent into it her other hand reached up and caressed my dirty matted hair and before I could stop myself a deep growling, purring noise forced it's way from my chest.

Her voice was soft and hesitant but it made me relax knowing she felt safe enough to let her guard down and let me touch her. I was just beginning to feel safe myself when I felt a tightness around my entire bring. I couldn't move and I could hardly breathe. Flashes of being strapped to a metal table and put underwater invaded my mind. I tried to let my claws out to fight the invisible bindings but even they weren't working. _Fucking useless._

I heard a tense exchange behind my back and I felt like a fucking moron for forgetting there were unfamiliar people behind me, people who were a threat to my kit. I felt her small hands comforting me in my prison before I felt a needle press into my skin and saw more flashes. Needles and scalpels and heat and lava under my skin and I was _burning alive _and no one was helping and I roared out in protest and fear of my own thoughts. I heard my new mate trying to comfort me but I was too lost in the horrifying memories now. I felt her touch my tags and touch my back and I forced myself to focus. She ran her fingers through my hair and grounded me again and I heard more tense words being exchanged and then there was blissful silence for a few brief moments.

She was suddenly back in focus and talking to me again. I forced myself to understand. I was desperate to know what the fuck was going on. "Going… okay…" I couldn't understand everything. It was so disjointed and it had been so long since I had needed to even understand English. I forced myself to remain focused on her words "…Let you go… follow me…hurt you…understand… saying…" I was frustrated at my lack of competence but knew enough. I needed to follow her no matter how desperate I was to whisk her away back to my shitty home and hide from the people she was with here.

I was weightless for a moment after I was released from my invisible prison and I fell to the ground disoriented with my own considerable weight. My claws came out as a defensive measure even though it was too late for them now and I felt the biting pain between my knuckles. I felt my little mate pulling at my arm and heard her speaking again "C'mon…follow me…hurtin'…scared…come with me." She fruitlessly tugged at my arm until I finally forced my body off the ground. She started to pull me toward the others but I didn't budge at first.

What if I just ran now? Would they be able to catch me? Would I be happy alone out there again? I stared at the others and then down to the kit tugging on my arm like it was going to make a difference, to the woods. No, I wouldn't be happy out there alone again. I probably wouldn't be happy anywhere without the kit now that my feral mind had decided she was the end all be all for me. "Please…you gotta come." She begged and I finally relented and followed her down the fucking rabbit hole.


End file.
